Time for new tires. I am currently running 195/75/14s on stock steel rims. When I searched this forum I found that some were running 205/70/14's. The diameter seems within an acceptable difference. How about a 205 width tire on stock wheels? Does anyone have a comment?

By the way, I am planning on going with Kumho KR21's unless I can find a local outlet for Falkens.

Actually the original size was 185-R-14. The closest to that is the 195-75R-14. I have them on my wagon, and with the GPS, I'm on the money.

I like having good ground clearance so go for the tallest tire. I don't really like wide tires unless better load rating.

195/75r14 = 195 X .75 = 146.25 mm (sidewall height)
205/70r14 = 205 X .70 = 143.5 mm

So the 205 though wider is slightly shorter. After multiplying by 2 and converting to inches and adding rim diameter, it becomes 25.5" vs. 25.3" diameter.

Pretty close, so check for load rating.
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1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb but electronic ignition and M46 trans in Brampton, Ont.

Another factor is rim width which effects the contact patch.Aspect ratio will also affect contact patch.So there is no benefit in going wider unless rim is also wide. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tirespecskey.jsp#rimwidthrange


In case of our 14" rim the good size is I think limited and probably not 205 mm. The right size I think will be 195-75 . I recently bought 195-70 because they were on discount and far better than earlier 185-70 R

Regards,
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

Another site is 1010tires.com. The tire calculator they have can do up to 4 sizes at one time and give you overall tire diameter and other specs-even the tire revolutions per mile!
Stock size was 185 70 R14. The 205 70 R14 are nice if you live in a flat area- have good rollout and gas mileage. If you have a little in between terrain I would go with the 195 70 R14 or the 75 series wall which you have. If you wanted to put on 16's you can get some hydras or whatever 205 55 R16 - its pretty much the same size as the 195's diameter wise.
The 205's will be a little doggier for the car and usually have to hold the gear a little longer for the upshift, not a big deal but not as much power on hills and whatnot. If you do a lot of freeway driving the 205's are nice though.

http://www.dakota-truck.net/TIRECALC/tirecalc.html

I like this chart. You input what you think and it gives you all the dimensions and you can compare to what you have already.

I really like the price and wet road handling of the Kumho KR21 solarus tires.


Not good at all in snow
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html

Chessy Creek:

If you want to see what tires fit and what the dia differences are go to

www.discounttire.com look at there tire data calculator.

The standard size for a 245 is 185/70/R14 but you can plus zero plus 1 or plus 2 the size with new rime at 15"/16" etc.

Also this site has very professional tire data information and is great outfit.

Honest and fair. No ship charge/no tax/no mounting/balance when you buy new rims. Or just buy the tires no ship charge as well.

Good luck I have 195/70R14 on one 245 and 195/65/R15 on another and 205/55/R16 on a 244 All Michilin


Good luck

Al

The standard size for a 245 is not 185/70R14. That is the standard size for a 240. The 245 standard size is 185R14 which might as well be unobtainium. The aspect ratio for 185R14 is somewhere between 78 and 82, depending on who made the tire. The closest match is a 195/75R14. There are not many choices in this size and many of them are whitewalls. I use 195/70R14 on my 245 and they seem to work well.

Charles
Houston, TX

Thanks guys - I think that I'll stay with the 195/75/14's for now. I have a set of 15" BBS wheels to refinish this spring. When they are ready to go on I will opt for the 205/60/15's as most of my driving is on the highway in flat terrain.

Tony, thanks for the recommendation on the KR21's. Snow isn't a factor on the coast of SC except for the fact that no one hear knows how to plow or drive in the stuff. It could be an interesting drive home today.

I'd stick with 195-70s or 195 75s, for the reasons you've discovered. The 15" BBSes will be an upgrade, as there are more high performance tires available that fit that dia. and presumably, wheel width. If you are going to get even more serious, obviously 16" and 17" wheels are the way to go. I have found firsthand that the handling available with 17x7.5s, BFG 215/45-17s, IPD swaybars, Bilstein shocks, and poly bushings exceeds the patience of by my local constabulary. Hmmm.